This blackberry blueberry cupcake is naturally colored using freeze dried fruit.
Blueberries in baked goods often bring up images of blueberry muffins with exploding berries and goo everywhere. They may be tasty, but they aren’t necessarily the prettiest.
Here’s a blueberry cupcake that I can’t help by gawk at!
Blueberry Blackberry Cupcake
These cupcakes perfect for weddings, bridal shows, baby showers, birthdays- really any occasion.
Unlike the typical “cupcake,” these are not overly sweet. Rather, the cake compliments the tart cream cheese frosting very well. The cake is sturdy. Yet, also moist with a tight crumb.
Best of all, these blueberry blackberry cupcakes travel well!
There are many options for transporting cupcakes. These bakery cupcake boxes (with removable inserts) are my favorite for gift gifting. During the holidays, I like to use this reusable stackable cupcake carrier.
The power of freeze dried fruit!
The natural violet color in the frosting is achieved from using powdered freeze dried blueberries.
There is a wide variety of freeze dried fruits now available. From banana to pineapple and strawberry to raspberry, you can easily make rich vibrant colored frosting and batter without artificial food coloring.
Due to the popularity of these blueberry blackberry cupcakes, I’ve made a large cake version. This blueberry cake features layers of blueberry cake with blueberry cream cheese frosting.
Other special occasion cupcakes
Interested in other cupcakes or mini cakes for celebrations and events? You might enjoy these:
- Strawberry Cupcakes (with freeze dried strawberries)
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
Blueberry Blackberry Cupcakes with Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Berry Cupcakes:
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, (228 g)
- ½ Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 Tablespoon powdered freeze-dried blueberries*, (17 g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113 g), softened, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar, (200 g)
- ½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest,, optional
- 2 large eggs, , room temperature
- ½ cup buttermilk, (113 g), room temp
- ½ cup fresh blueberries, (80 g), pureed and strained
- ½ cup fresh blackberries, (80 g), pureed and strained
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, or vanilla paste
Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (113 g), room temp
- 4 oz brick-style cream cheese, (113 g), softened, room temp
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, , or vanilla paste
- 4 Tablespoon powdered freeze-dried blueberries, (17 g)
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, (230 g)
Instructions
Blackberry-Blueberry Cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin with paper wrappers or reusable silicone cups.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and powdered blueberries. Set aside.
- Cream butter, granulated sugar, and optional lemon zest in a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Add eggs one at a time and mix until fully incorporated.
- In a measuring cup, combine buttermilk, blueberry and blackberry puree, and vanilla.
- Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into creamed butter. Mix until just incorporated.
- Divide batter among 12 cupcakes. Bake for 20-24 minutes until cake is done and a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Let cool in tin for a couple of minutes before unmolding and let cool completely on wire rack. Let cool to room temperature before frosting.
Blueberry Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add vanilla, blueberry powder, and confectioner’s sugar. Mix until smooth.
- Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe over cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- Milk: Any milk including non-dairy milks such as almond milk, soy milk, or oat milk may be used.
- Berries: Use either fresh or thawed frozen strawberries to make puree. Highly recommend using fresh berries for best results.
- Cream Cheese: Use brick-style cream cheese. Full-fat cream cheese has the best texture and flavor for frosting. Reduced fat or low fat cream cheese has extra moisture that will affect the consistency of the frosting.
- For longer storage, frosted cupcakes can be keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Allow chilled cupcakes and frosting to sit at room temperature before eating (about 15-20 minutes).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Note: The mini blossoms and daisy cutouts are made from a 50/50 blend of homemade fondant and gum paste. The center is a sugar pearl.
Tried these today- I had all the ingredients- they turned out beautifully. I never would have thought to take the freeze dried berries and process them. In the frosting I added the berries to the butter and it incorporated well- got the beautiful color and taste. Thank you!
i live in Hawaii and there is no Trader Joes or Whole Foods at least on my island , so don’t know if I will be able to find some of the ingredients. It’s harder to find things here like blackberries, can you use frozen? What is vanilla paste and could I substitute it? What is lemon oil and can I substitute it? I hesitate t o purchase something especially if it’s expensive and I would not be using it again. If it’s something I can buy in the bulk section no problem. Don’t know if they carry freeze dried blueberries here, will have to check. Is the freeze dried blueberries just for the color aspect of it? If so I wouldn’t need to use it, thought I would like the frosting to be purple as its my favorite color and the color is part of the appeal for these. Anyway can convert the measurements for me ? I’m not good at math, besides have limited access to Internet, none at home, have to go to library.
Mahalo???
I do a lot of baking but never with freeze dried fruit and I’m making these for a wedding. Can you use dried blueberries in stead of freeze dried?
Hi Haley! Unfortunately you cannot substitute dried blueberries for freeze dried blueberries. Freeze dried blueberries are 99% moisture free, whereas dried blueberries still have a ton of moisture. The results will not be the same.
I have the freeze dried blueberry powder pre packaged about how much of the actual powder would I use?
Where can I find the pretty white flowers you used to decorate?
Hi Rachel, I actually made those mini blossoms and daises using a 50/50 blend of homemade fondant and store-bought fondant. I used these two cutters: http://amzn.to/1m0POPx and http://amzn.to/1jHFfPX
And the center of the flowers are sugar pearls.
Hi, I made these last week and they were THE BOMB!! Best cupcakes I have ever had :) I have one question though..I want to make strawberry cupcakes. Can I use the same recipe just substituting the blue/blackberries with strawberries or any other freeze dried fruit and I assume minus the lemon oil?
Hi Mireya! Happy to hear you liked the cupcakes! I have a strawberry cupcake recipe very similar to the blue/blackberry one and an adaptation of the Sprinkles cupcake using freeze dried strawberries. Here at the links https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/strawberry-cupcakes/ and https://www.thelittleepicurean.com/sprinkles-strawberry-cupcakes/
And yes, you can use the same recipe and substitute the strawberries.
These are gorgeous! I have piping envy. Both the cupcakes and frosting sound incredible. Pinning this to make later!
Thanks, Ellie! Having fun making them! Piping just takes practice, you’ll have it down in no time :)
These look wonderful and i would love to make them. A question the recipe says “7 1/2 oz all purpose flour” is that 7 and 1/2 cup of all purpose flour or 7i/2 ounces– meaning just under a cup??
Hi Rachele, the 7.5 ounces is the weight of the flour. I used a scale to measure all the ingredients for this recipe. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, there are plenty of websites that will tell you the conversion weight of flour to cups. Hope that helps!
Just made a double recipe of these and decorated with the berries and royal icing flowers. Had to substitute vanilla extract for paste and lemon zest for oil, but they are delicious!! I don’t usually eat desserts that don’t involve chocolate, but these are amazing!
Freeze-dried fruit is new to me — can’t wait to try it with others recipes.
Thank for posting this recipe!
Glad they turned out great! I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun experimenting with freeze-dried fruit! :)
where do you find freeze dried blueberry? what is that?
I bought mine at Trader’s Joes. They are also sold at Whole Foods Markets and sometimes I can find them at Target. Freeze dried blueberries are completely dried and free of any moisture. Its not like regular dried fruit that is soft and full of water. When freeze dried blueberries are crushed, they turn into a powder that is a wonderful color enhancer.
HI,I L-O-V-E this post… Could you tell me where you bought the two flower cutters…? Thanks so much!
Hi Jenn, I bought the flower cutters from http://www.countrykitchensa.com/